Relasjonell mobbing blant jenter i barnehagen

The purpose of this report is to examine and discuss how the phenomenon of bullying is constructed in different contexts among girls in kindergarten. The author re-analyses the data material from the previous study 'Mobbing i barnehagen (Bullying in kindergarten): A study of bullying as strategic power display amongst kindergarten children' (HIF-report 2006:7) and examines bullying in kindergarten from a different perspective. The study aims to show alternative ways of understanding kindergarten children, namely as players whose actions could be construed as bullying. Moreover, the following terms are defined; play, bullying and friendship, and the study examines the impact of bullying on children's ability to establish friendships.

Through three examples of play, the study shows how subtle forms of bullying can be hidden in the play context. Children can bring a game to a halt thereby prevent others from taking part. The fact that the girls neither manage to establish a game or develop it, could be interpreted as a result of one girl's manipulation of the social rules and play context. The conflicts among the four girls could be understood as examples of how relational bullying can take place. This study demonstrates alternative conceptions of the child than those presented in other research studies and professional literature where kindergarten children are considered to be too young and too innocent to be bullies. The study shows that there is more aggression and destructive behaviour at play in children's relationships than child carers imagine.

The data material consists of three observations of four four-year-old girls playing in a randomly selected kindergarten. The observations are analysed using discourse analysis.

Helgesen, M.B. (2010). Relasjonell mobbing blant jenter i barnehagen. HiF-rapport 2010:4. Høgskolen i Finnmark.